Netherlands - 1 England - 1: After the angst of Zagreb, a tame occasion would have been soothing if England had held tight to their 1-0 lead last night. The concession of an equaliser in the 86th minute was particularly galling because it was so redolent of the Henrik Larssson late goal that let Sweden take a point in their World Cup group game in summer.

England could not deal with a long throw-in and the substitute Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink headed on at the near post for Rafael van der Vaart to come through and shoot home.

The match had been indifferent and perhaps it was apt that it did not produce a victor. Steve McClaren will have to scrape together the consolations that the fixture did leave lying around.

Wayne Rooney made his name by specialising in the spectacular, but it is important that he also deals in the sort of minor blessing offered here. This was his first goal for his country in the year and three days that had elapsed since the intoxicating friendly 3-2 defeat of Argentina in Geneva.

After failing to find the net in a draw and a defeat against, respectively, Macedonia and Croatia, McClaren has another goal on his managerial record. He can be happy as well that the 4-3-3 system had its moments because when England last adopted it against Holland the consequence was a ghastly 0-0 draw at Villa Park in February last year. After the malfunctioning tactics in Zagreb, the modest tweaking of the gameplan here was a relief.

A win, however, would have aided England more now that they have to steel themselves for the stressful year to come. In the wake of results elsewhere, with both Croatia and Russia both winning away last night, McClaren's team have dropped to third place in Group E of the Euro 2008 qualifiers, but when they return to competitive football in the away game with Israel in March, they will be encouraged if they can look around and see Joe Cole in their ranks.

He was the best performer on show in Amsterdam, setting up the goal and feeding team-mates deftly with his little tricks and touches. Rooney, in his own way, was also absorbing. The forward has had far greater evenings than this, but as he matures it is vital that he learns to contribute in the ordinary, mundane ways that help shape a contest.

England's goal itself was virtually commonplace but there was quality in Joe Cole's cross after 37 minutes and Rooney came between three defenders to force the ball into the corner with the outside of his right foot. The scorer had earlier headed disappointingly to the goalkeeper Henk Timmer after the industrious Andy Johnson had stopped the defence from dealing adequately with a Joe Cole delivery.

Just before breaking the deadlock, Rooney had very nearly set up Frank Lampard with a header but Timmer intervened. There was too few links of that nature in a match that washed around the pitch but seldom surged. The exception came at the end when England were forceful in the attempt to re-establish the lead, only for Maarten Stelenburg, the replacement goalkeeper, to deny Steven Gerrard.

An international debut for an 18-year-old in an away game against opponents of this calibre was always likely to see Micah Richards fighting with himself as much as with Dutch attackers. The night had its stresses and the Manchester City right-back's pulse would have pounded as Arjen Robben swept past him for a shot that Paul Robinson parried before Denny Landzaat headed wide in the 11th minute.

Although Richards would later be dispossessed by the Chelsea winger he did not shrink from the action. He has the physical strength to contribute and made a decoy run that benefited Joe Cole for the goal. Richards should go back to his club with a degree of hope for an international career that is tempered by the understanding of its difficulties.

There was a temptation to dwell on individuals in a match that never quite cohered. Johnson would have been entitled to be exasperated since the service to him was erratic and, while the vigorous running that McClaren appreciates was on show, it was too often employed to chase lost causes.

Guardian Service

THE NETHERLANDS: Timmer (Stekelenburg 46), Boulahrouz (Jaliens 61), Ooijer (Vennegoor of Hesselink 84), Mathijsen, Emanuelson, Landzaat, Schaars, Seedorf, Van der Vaart, Kuyt (Huntelaar 61), Robben. Subs Not Used: De Cler, Mendes Da Silva, Sno, Maduro, Heitinga. Goals: Van der Vaart 86.

ENGLAND: Robinson, Richards, Ferdinand, Terry, Ashley Cole, Gerrard, Carrick, Lampard, Joe Cole (Richardson 78), Rooney, Johnson (Wright-Phillips 74). Subs Not Used: Bridge, Foster, Brown, Carragher, Dawson, Neville, Defoe, Crouch. Booked: Ashley Cole. Goals: Rooney 37.

Referee: Lubos Michel (Slovakia).